Great Runners of the Past: Walter George

By Craig: Okay, my addiction to running has moved beyond the realm of my personal fitness. I now find myself researching the historical aspect of this sport that I have enjoyed off and on for many years. A few months ago I was down in Tampa, Florida doing some work on my brother-in-laws house which will finally be placed on the market in the next few weeks. I had a little down time, so naturally I found myself going to the bookstores and libraries. My wife has a Hillsborough County library card, so I was able to check out a few books that I found to my liking. One of these books was called The Five Kings of Distance by Peter Lovesey. It was written back in the early 1970s and recounts the running careers of 5 middle to long distance runners from the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of these runners was a chemists apprentice by the name of Walter Goodall George.

     George was born in England in 1858. At a young age he took up pedestrianism. Pedestrianism is nothing more than an antiquated Victorian term for running. Most people in those days thought of runners as being eccentric, however, people in those days, as they do today also enjoyed a good contest. this was especially true when betting was involved. Walter George was an amateur, but soon began making himself a name in Pedestrian circles as someone that was hard to beat. In fact, George boasted to some friends that he could run a mile in 4:12. This was unheard of in the early 1880s. His best time had been a 4:18 accomplished in 1884. The world record holder, however, belonged to the professional runner William Cummings who had been clocked at 4:16 in 1881.

                                                   Walter G. George (1858-1943)

    In 1885 George challenged Cummings to a one mile race which was held at the Lillie Bridge grounds in London on August 31. George won the race running the mile in 4:20. Cummings, however went on to beat George in a couple of longer races held later on that year. By 1886, George had turned professional. Once again a challenge resulted in the two runners facing each other yet again at the Lillie Bridge Grounds, almost a year after the last 1 mile race. According to people that were present that day, it was a race not soon forgotten. George took the early lead, but Cummings was never far from his heels. Finally, Cummings surged ahead, but he ended up collapsing, and George pulled away with the victory. The time on the clock read an amazing 4:12:3/4. He had been true to his word. He had beaten Cummings record and no one would surpass it until Norman Taber of the United States broke the mark 27 years later.